Monday, July 12, 2010

Now, lest you think this is some kind of dark and heavy rye-based bread, perfect for sauerkraut and cheese sandwiches ... I will just point out the cup of tea in the background. Any guesses? Hmmm...

It's Chocolate Bread. Would you believe it? It's like regular bread you'd have toasted with butter and jam for breakfast, except with a beautiful little hint of chocolate. Just enough to make that strawberry jam or that orange marmalade taste even better.

1. Do you have a breadmaker? If you do, this is super easy. By the way, I got mine at a secondhand shop 6 years ago and it's still serving me well. So good. Pull it out of the cupboard, and dust it off. Put all the ingredients in it and hit 'start'.

2. If not, it'll just take a little muscle ... but not too much! Mix the yeast and sugar and warm milk in a bowl. When the yeast starts foaming, add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, until the dough starts to come together. Then turn it out on a floured benchtop or board and knead for about 5 min until it's smooth and elastic. Put the dough back into a bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and put it in a warm place until the dough doubles in size (about 1-2 hrs).

3. Punch down the dough and put it into a greased bread pan. Cover the pan and dough with a dish towel and let rise for 30 min - 1 hr, until the dough is airy and puffy again. Preheat the oven to 170C, 350F.

4. When it's ready, put the dough in the oven and bake it for about 25 min. You'll know it's done when you tap it and it sounds hollow. Cool and eat. But not with sauerkraut.

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How much did this cost me?

All the ingredients in my loaf were organic . The flour was $1.50 and the cocoa was $0.70. The milk and butter were about $0.65 each. The sugar and yeast and salt weren't much at all. So, a loaf of organic chocolate bread costs about $3.50. About the cost of a chocolate muffin, only way better for you!

Last time I made this was for a brunch with friends, and we had chocolate bread with jam and butter and yogurt/toasted muesli parfaits and muffins. We sat around the living room and drank hot coffee and caught up on life with little kiddies ...
what a great morning!